The shipping and handling of liquids and other free flowing materials, e.g., powders, pellets, etc., is frequently accomplished by the use of 55 gallon steel drums. However, there are many problems associated with steel drums. Steel drums are difficult to handle when filled and require the use of unique material handling equipment having special lifting attachments. Additionally, steel drums are susceptible to rust and are costly to recycle. Steel drums are also difficult to manually maneuver in an untilled state and are also relatively difficult to open and close. Further, the cylindrical shape of the drums makes them inherently inefficient to store and to ship in cubic freight containers. In addition, steel drums can be comparatively expensive with respect to other types of fluid transport containers.
Corrugated liquid Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) have been designed in an attempt to eliminate many of these problems. However, existing corrugated IBCs have had their share of disadvantages. One such existing IBC is manufactured by Willamette Industries. However, containers of this type require the use of special dollies and/or carts for the individual lifting thereof and cannot be lifted solely by existing standard equipment such as fork lift trucks. Further, while stacking of these containers is possible, they have been known to collapse due to their poor performance to withstand stacking of more than two containers high.
A collapsible lined fiberboard container having a plurality of lifting loops permitting the container to be lifted by a fork lift truck is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,364 to LaPoint, Jr. However, these lifting loops are attached to the outside of the upper corners of the container and they do not help support the contents of the container with respect to the container. Such an arrangement creates an apparent increased susceptibility for the failure of the lifting loops and/or their attachment points during lifting. Further, the container top must be removed for the filling and discharging of the container which can be bothersome and time consuming.
A sling for use with collapsible shipping containers for the transport of sacks containing particulate material for top-filling and bottom-emptying is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,979 to Kupersmit. The collapsible shipping container includes first and second side walls, first and second end walls, a lower wall foldably connected to side wall, and a separable lid member. A plurality of first strap members keep the container in a closed position when fastened. A plurality of second strap members, having D-rings at their ends, extend between the bottom wall and the bottom edges of the end walls. To transport the container, a pair of straps are attached to the D-rings and the container can be hoisted by an overhead transport mechanism having an H-frame lifting element. To unload the sack, the first strap members are released, permitting the bottom wall to drop and exposing the bottom of the sack. The sack is then positioned over a hopper and the bottom of the sack is cut causing the contents of the sack to fall by gravity into the hopper. In a second embodiment, the sack is lifted from container by a unitary harness element. However, neither container embodiment allows for a simplified discharging and filling process and both embodiments require the sack be pierced by a cutting tool for discharging.
A trash bag sling for removing a filled trash bag from an ordinary trash container is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,257 to Peterson. The sling consists of a heavy bottom plate with a pair of straps positioned across each other at their mid-lengths and securely fastened to the bottom plate. However, the sling is only useful for lifting the trash bag from the container and does not facilitate in the lifting or handling of the trash container.
Therefore, a container for transporting free flowing materials is needed which can be handled by fork lift trucks and other standard material handling equipment, can be easily filled and discharged, and has the strength to withstand stacking.
Corrugated fiberboard containers having a wide variety of constructions are well known in the art. Many of these container designs employ closure flaps which may overlap and/or interlock in various fashions to securely close the bottom or top of the container. However, in many applications, the height of the container is too great and access to the closure flaps from the interior of the container is restricted or otherwise hindered.
A container locking bottom comprised of four overlapping flaps, each hinged to a side wall panel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,092,298 to Scholle. The first flap is folded inwardly against the container wall interior. A second flap, opposite the first flap, includes a tab portion which locks the side flaps, i.e., the third and fourth flaps. The final step in forming the bottom comprises bending the remaining first flap away from the container wall interior, presumably by reaching inside the top of the container. The second and third flaps include finger holes which overlap to facilitate the disassembling of the bottom closure. However, as the assembly of the closure requires reaching inside the container from the top, it is inadequate for taller containers where access to the first flap from the container interior is impeded due to container height. Further, the finger holes are used exclusively for disassembling the bottom closure and does not facilitate in the assembly of the bottom closure.
Therefore, a corrugated fiberboard container with a strong and reliable bottom closure arrangement which can be quickly and manually assembled without the need to utilize glue or staples to secure the closure assembly is needed where the access to the bottom closure from the container interior is impeded.